The Romances of Kyoya Ootori
by tokkito
Summary: Those who find love tend not make an active effort of looking for it. Thus it only seems natural that love would find its way to someone so coolly indifferent as Kyoya Ootori. If not love, then romance, surely.  Kyoya x OC
1. When a face looks vaguely nostalgic

The Romances of Kyoya Ootori

Part One: The High School Romance

1.1 _That awkward moment when you see someone, and you know you've met them before, but you can't remember where._

On a day as beautiful as it was that first of September, Kyoya was tempted to believe that weather suited the whims of the wealthy. Of course, he would never be so naive as to believe such an absurd idea, but it really was an ideal day to begin school. The temperature was perfect; not so hot that it made wearing the school uniform torture yet warm enough to make you forget there was such a thing as cold. The sky was a beautiful blue; rare even outside the main metropolitan of Tokyo, and the clouds in the sky seemed only to be there for decoration.

Kyoya went to school with Tamaki that morning, only on Tamaki's request. The previous night, Tamaki had called, going on about how it was every girl's dream to see two handsome best-friend princes arrive at school to greet the crowd (which even Kyoya could not deny there would be). Somehow, in a year, the Host Club's popularity had become rather explosive.

Kyoya could not honestly say that he enjoyed the attention. Acknowledgement from his peers meant nothing to him compared to that of his father's. Recently, Yoshio was coming to the suspicion that Kyoya was spending too much time fooling around and not enough time working (or focusing on his academics). It might have escaped his father's notice that it was summer, but Kyoya knew better than to question anything that came out of his father's mouth. He didn't have a doubt that even the Yazuka would fear the almighty wrath of Yoshio Ootori.

Anyhow, in order stop Tamaki's pointless yapping, Kyoya had complied with a: "Listen here you fool, I don't give a second damn what you want to do, but if you show up at my doorstep before eight, you won't live long enough to see your beloved fan girls tomorrow" and hung up.

"Ah," said Tamaki, sighing happily as he stretched out comfortably in the back of the limousine. "It feels good to be going back to school. Aren't you excited Kyoya? It's a new year, filled with new possibilities! It's going to be great, I just know it!"

"I doubt that this year is going to be any different from the previous year, or the year preceding that. Don't let your foolish imagination run you wild," said Kyoya dispassionately. The sound of Tamaki's obnoxious optimism had tapped at Kyoya's annoyance. He'd rather hoped that the blonde would let him enjoy one journey to school in peace.

"Kyoya!" whined Tamaki indignantly. "Show some enthusiasm!"

Kyoya did not reply, and Tamaki settled into silence too. They sat in silence, staring out the window listening only to their thoughts.

"I wonder how everyone's doing," Tamaki pondered quietly. "We didn't really keep in touch this summer, did we?" Tamaki's mood suddenly darkened. "Those troublesome twins kept ignoring my phone calls, and my text messages, and my invitations to meet up..." Suddenly, something else came to Tamaki. He perked up, looking over at Kyoya. "Oh by the way Kyoya, did you hear? We have a scholarship student attending the school this year? A commoner! Isn't that interesting?"

"No particularly," replied Kyoya. "A commoner has nothing to offer to any of us, therefore I can't really be bothered to care."

"Kyoya, don't be so harsh," said Tamaki, frowning at him. "Commoners are people too... I wonder what he's like. Really smart obviously, the studious type. Doesn't have a lot of friends... no charisma... really ambitious..."

_And you said _I _was being harsh_, thought Kyoya, who closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as Tamaki went on about what the scholarship student might look like. His critique of that was no more kind than his predictions about personality. They hadn't even arrived at school yet and Kyoya was already getting a headache.

"What do you think, Kyoya?" asked Tamaki, taking a break from his speculations as they pulled through the gates of the school.

The campus buildings complemented the beautiful weather, as did the beautifully landscaped gardens of the school. The school could have been on a postcard (Kyoya was sure that it was). Seeing the familiar sights again, Kyoya felt a rush of nostalgia in a good way; though he would never admit that in front of Tamaki.

"Like I said, I don't care." But Tamaki wasn't listening anymore. A hundred metres from the front entrance and the voices of a hundred girls already carried into the limousine. They could see the girls too. They crowded the front entrance making a sea of custard yellow. From a distance, it was as if a hundred giant cupcakes were placed along the front entrance.

"Doesn't it warm your heart Kyoya?" asked Tamaki, smiling contentedly at his best friend. "It really does feel good."

"Admiration only warms the heart of the pretentious," Kyoya was saying. But once again, the blonde ignored his words as he was already exiting the limo. Kyoya's words were drowned by the ear piercing squeals and screams of the mass of girls. Kyoya felt a fit nauseous, and his headache wasn't going away. None the less, Kyoya put on his game face for decorum and exited after Tamaki, who was waiting for him.

Because there were so many girls, and so much pandemonium, and Tamaki just had to greet _every_ girl present in a romantic fashion, it took much longer than it should have to reach just the front doors of the school. Tamaki had gone so far as to have a rose prepared for every girl. Although it was a bit of a mystery when he'd done that as there certainly had not been a hundred roses inside their limousine. By the time they did reach the doors, it was eight-thirty had long gone and school had already begun. This obviously led to Kyoya feeling very annoyed. He did not like to be tardy, regardless of the reason.

It only further added to his annoyance when just as he was about to walk into the school, another wave of screams pierced his already damaged eardrums. Both he and Tamaki turned around to see who it was.

"Oh?" said Tamaki as Hikaru Hitachiin stepped out of their limousine. Kyoya barely heard any of what Tamaki said over the renewed squeals and cries of joy. "What time is it? Why are they this late?" Following Hikaru was the younger twin, Kaoru. Although they were both out of the limousine, they didn't walk towards the school or the anticipating crowd. In fact, they didn't even acknowledge that there was a crowd. Instead, Hikaru held the door open and Kaoru held his hand out. "What-" started Tamaki, as a hand took Kaoru's and a third person, a girl clad in custard yellow Ouran uniform stepped out of the limousine. Tamaki's surprise was echoed by the group of girls. Their squeals quickly turned in gasps and whispers of surprise and confusion. Kyoya watched as each twin took her by a hand and they were about to walk into school only to find the crowd of people staring at them.

_So they were late on purpose, so as not to draw attention to her..._

For a moment, the trio stood with a look of surprise on each of their faces. The girl was inarguably beautiful and at first, it was hard to place what exactly she was. Then it occurred to Kyoya that she must have been of half-Asian, half-foreign descent. He really did wonder who she was. How many _hafu_ children came from wealthy families anyways? Of course, it had completely escaped Kyoya's notice that there was one standing right next to him. As he thought about it, the twins exchanged a look with each other, before turning back to the crowd of confused and bewildered admirers.

"Oh," they said in unison, looking from the girls to the one between them. "You must be wondering...who this is? ...Everybody, this is our cousin, Hayashi Rio. She just moved here from Russia, so please be kind to her!"

In an instant, the confusion turned in to admiration and adoration.

"_Oh_, so she's their cousin!"

"She's so pretty, and they seem so close!"

"Ah, I'm so envious!"

"Hikaru and Kaoru-sama are so sweet, taking care of their _gaijin_ relative like that!"

Though none of the girls were paying attention, Kyoya could tell by the slight look of surprise on the girl's face that the twins had lied about who she was.

"Kyoya, did you know?" asked Tamaki, slightly surprised.

"No," Kyoya answered truthfully. As he replied, he scrutinized Rio, who was being held by the twins. The trio was walking like they were attending a red carpet event, only Rio looked terrible uncomfortable. He noticed that although she stood upright, back as straight as a board, her lower body didn't carry the same sort of grace. As she walked, her steps were uneven, as if she were struggling to do so. Somehow, she reminded him of an injured bird. "I didn't..."

* * *

><p>Because of the varying circumstances of children of the wealthy, every year, Ouran had a handful of students transferring in and out from (and to) different countries all around the world. Thus the regular students of Ouran were quite used to new faces, and transfer students were nothing too special. This was why it was rather unusual that most of the student population of Ouran were whispering about a transfer. Yet, by lunch period rumours about Hayashi Rio had spread like wildfire. People were talking more about Rio than they were the commoner scholarship student, who happened to be the first scholarship student Ouran ever played host to.<p>

Kyoya and Tamaki, who hadn't even had the chance to be formally introduced to her were even being grilled about her. Countless curious male students had ear of this hafu arrival at their school and were running as wild as Tamaki in their imaginations about this new girl being their one true love. If Kyoya had to bear witness to another guy confessing to him about how marrying a hafu would be perfect because she was the best of both worlds (domestic but exotic in looks), he was sure that his normally calm demeanour wouldn't last. It really did seem like Hayashi Rio had become the legendary ideal girl of every guy in the school.

As Kyoya and Tamaki sat down with Hani and Mori-senpai for lunch, the doors of the cafeteria opened and in walked Rio, escorted by Hikaru and Kaoru and followed by a hoard of students. They looked rather idyllic and picturesque until the sound factored in. It was as if there was suddenly a celebrity at the school. It was so loud that the scene was creating a ruckus in the cafeteria. As soon as they walked in, Hikaru and Kaoru stopped in their tracks.

"This is our cafeteria," they said together. "You can get your lunch over there," they gestured over to the food serving area. "We'll see you later." With that, the twins unceremoniously left a startled looking Rio to fend for herself. They walked over to the Host Club's table to a rather shocked looking Tamaki. Meanwhile, the crowd of students had more or less completely engulfed Rio and their questions were indistinguishable over one another.

"You two," said Tamaki, obviously annoyed. "Have you learned nothing in your time as hosts?"

"What's he going on about?" asked Kaoru, looking over to his brother who gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Leaving a vulnerable girl like that...to fend for herself while the people around her insensitively act like...imagine her fear! ...it's your job as hosts to be the heroic princes and rescue her..." Tamaki was thoroughly explaining his indignation while none of the hosts listened. They sat at the table, ignoring him and eating their lunches. "...to be alone, in a foreign country...I know how it feels..."

"Hika-chan, Kao-chan," said Hani-senpai, cutting over what was now Tamaki's dramatic monologue about his lonely life in Japan. "Tell us about Rio-chan. Even in our homeroom, people were talking about her, right Takashi?"

Mori-senpai nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Yes, Hayashi-san is indeed the topic of the day," said Kyoya, looking over to the crowd, from which Rio had yet to surface. The mass of people had made its way into the food area. "Tamaki and I are curious about her as well."

Tamaki stopped his overdramatic ranting. "Ah, that's right. Tell us about her."

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "What's there to say? You already know her name. She's just like any other transfer student..."

"Start by telling us how you know her," suggested Kyoya shrewdly. The twins looked to him in surprise, then to each other.

"Kyoya-senpai really does know everything, doesn't he?" asked Kaoru.

"Even when we lie, it doesn't get past him," Hikaru agreed.

"Rio-chan," they said together. "Is not really our cousin."

"You see, Rio is actually the daughter of our mother's close friends," said Hikaru. "But Kyouya-senpai and Tono saw how those girls reacted when they saw us getting out of the car with her. If we had said she wasn't related to us, those girls were going to rip her to shreds."

"So to save her from being bullied the entire time she's here, we just said that she's our cousin," said Kaoru.

"If you care about her, then why did you leave her to _that_ crowd?" muttered Tamaki under his breath.

"They've been bothering us all day, it's so annoying," replied the twins rather indifferently.

"Anyways, we didn't lie when we said she transferred here from Russia," said Kaoru. "...Something happened at her old school, and Rio couldn't go back, so her parents convinced her to move to Japan and attend school here."

"Our mother is Rio's godmother," said Hikaru. "And since we're the same age, and Rio's parents don't live in Japan anymore, she's staying with us. She's been living in our house since August." When Hikaru said that, he sounded obviously annoyed. Kaoru had the same sort of expression on his face, and they looked to each other, as if silently agreeing that this had been a terrible recent development in their lives.

"What happened at her old school?" asked Tamaki, gazing over at Rio, who was now distinguishable among the slightly dispersed crowd.

"None of your business," the twins said together, shooting Tamaki down. Tamaki perked up again when the sound of a group of guys endlessly interrogating Rio drifted to his ears.

"Rio-chan, Rio-chan, come play with us after school."

"You're so pretty. Why did you move here from Russia?"

"What school did you go to before Ouran? Did you have lots of friends there? Did you have a boyfriend there?"

"What kind of things do you like? My family has connections, I can take you anywhere you want to play."

Looking over, it was evident that Rio was uncomfortable. Tamaki stood up, as if about to take some sort of actions, but the twins beat him to it. "By the way," said Kaoru pausing for a moment. Hikaru was already walking towards Rio and the crowd of guys surrounding her. "Don't talk about her past in front of her, she's really sensitive to that." Kaoru followed his brother. From where he was sitting, Kyoya could hear the twins telling people off as one took Rio's lunch tray, and the other marched her over to the Host Club table rather more forcefully than necessary. "And if you bother us again today, we won't tolerate it!" They called as they sat down again.

"Rio-chan, these are our friends from school," said Kaoru. "This is Tamaki-senpai, Kyouya-senpai, Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai." He introduced each of them to Rio.

"Princess, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!" exclaimed Tamaki practically bursting with enthusiasm. From seemingly nowhere, he conjured up a rose. "For you, my darling. It seems that everyone has been talking about you today, but your beauty far outshines what words can describe. I'm Tamaki Suoh, the leader and king of the host club. Please, call me Tamaki, or...would you be willing to call me lover?"

Rio laughed, raising her eyebrows at him incredulously. When Tamaki looked a bit hurt by her laughter, Rio stifled her amused giggles and gave him a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Tamaki-senpai," she said, so thrown off by such a 'warm' (for lack of a better word) welcome that she had forgotten to take the flower that Tamaki had offered her.

Her Japanese was really good, Kyoya observed. From her dialect, it would have been hard to distinguish that she was a foreigner. In fact, she could have sounded as if she was raised in Tokyo. He hadn't gotten a good look at her appearance that morning, but now that Kyoya could see her up close, he could understand why so many guys had become so suddenly infatuated with her. Though she had the typical Japanese phenotype; dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, there was something about her features that were different and somewhat foreign. The most obvious thing, she was at least half a head taller than most of the girls at the school. The differences however, didn't detract from her beauty at all. In fact, Kyoya was sure that many girls would have marked Rio's appearance as how they would ideally like to look.

She greeted everyone else at the table too, leaving Tamaki feeling very obviously dejected that she hadn't fallen head over heels for her like most girls would have. When she looked to Kyoya, their eyes met, and a feeling of nostalgia and vague recognition came to him. "It's very nice to meet you, Kyoya-senpai," she said politely. In that moment, Kyoya felt like he had seen her before. It was strange because obviously, Rio didn't remember him. Even so, he was _sure_ that he had seen her before. Where did he know her from? The feeling was bothering Kyoya. After a moment that was long enough to make him seem a bit slow, Kyoya realized that Rio, and the rest table were all staring at him. He'd almost forgotten that he had yet to reply.

"Ah, nice to meet you," Kyoya said with a smile that could have charmed Tamaki's grandmother.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! First chapter! **

For some reason, I think that Kyoya more than any other Ouran character tends to get paired with a lot of different people. I am also guilty of this. And actually, I ended up thinking of a number of different characters (all girls, and original characters) to have Kyoya be with romantically. You know when you think about it, and write about it, and plan it, and then you get attached to it? Well I pretty much got attached to all of these characters. So I wrote this fanfic, which will encompass all of the romantic relationships Kyoya finds himself in from his first girlfriend until he's married. This is going to be a long fanfic.

Also, I'll have you know that one of my secret ambitions is to write a fanfic that gets more than 1000 reviews. **So leave me a review please**. Tell me what you think of my characters, how you think I did portraying the canon characters, suggestions for things that you'd like to see happen in the future. I will respond to the best of my abilities!

**One last thing**. My goal as of right now is to update this story twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, so those are the days that you can check back for a new chapter. Thank you so much for reading, please look forward to the next chapter!


	2. There's a first for everything

1.2 _That awkward moment when you think you're complementing a girl, but you end up making her cry._

Generally, in the remaining five minutes of class, students at Ouran took it in their liberty to use the time chatting with other students, sitting (or standing) around with their group of friends, gossiping or using some other way to waste their time. Kyoya took full advantage of this time to finish what little work he could, and he was normally so productive that five minutes afforded him enough time to finish his homework in at least one of his subjects. Although he sat at his desk with his books open that afternoon, Kyoya did nothing except for sit idly, lost in his own thoughts.

It didn't escape Kyoya's notice that it might have been the least productive first day of school he ever had. Of course, the morning went perfectly fine. Kyoya got to class (albeit late, though he'd been excused because Tamaki had charmed both their ways out of trouble), took notes, answered questions, and did as he was told, even taking initiative to help his classmates as a good class representative ought to. Kyoya, unlike everyone else in his classes, had not been obsessing over the identity of the twins' foreign escort. Sure, he had been curious, but not enough to bother himself about it. He knew that he would eventually find out anyways. It was only after lunch that Kyoya could focus on nothing except trying to figure out exactly where he had seen Hayashi Rio before. By the end of the day, Kyoya was sure that he had seen her before, and still not sure where. It was annoying him that he couldn't get his head around it.

"Kyoya," said Tamaki. It was only when Tamaki said his name that Kyoya had tuned back into his surroundings. He found that the blonde was staring intently at him, his face barely inches away from Kyoya's. Kyoya drew back in surprise and Tamaki laughed lightly. He was leaning on Kyoya's desk casually yet somehow it seemed to Kyoya like Tamaki was posing for a photograph. "What's wrong with you today? Don't tell me you too have fallen in love with Hayashi-hime at first sight?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kyoya countered quickly, annoyed that Tamaki was so quick to assume but more annoyed that he knew exactly what was on Kyoya's mind.

Tamaki took this in stride. Obviously Kyoya's coolness towards the matter had been more like his usual self, and Tamaki snickered not unlike the twins would usually have done. "That's too bad," said Tamaki with a smile. "You would have made a nice couple. Maybe you would even be another Romeo and Juliet...how romantic."

"Who would want to be Romeo and Juliet?" asked Kyoya sceptically. "Of all couples in literature, they spent three days together and then they both died."

"Ah, but was the love not sweet while it lasted?" asked Tamaki, wiggling his eyebrow and grinning like the fool he was.

"I would rather a relationship that could last," replied Kyoya.

"A relationship with Rio-chan, perhaps?" Tamaki teased. Kyoya had the distinct feeling that Tamaki enjoyed teasing him for the sole purpose of seeing him annoyed. Tamaki was always telling him that he should be himself more. Frankly Kyoya did not like having Tamaki dictate his behaviour, and thus did nothing of the sort. Kyoya was confident that he had a good sense of self, regardless of how he may act around relevant company or what Tamaki might think. Even though Kyoya would have liked not to give Tamaki the satisfaction of seeing him annoyed, it worked.

"Shut up, you fool," said Kyoya, glaring at him with the demon eyes only an AB blood type could muster. Tamaki immediately blanched, withdrawing so that he was out of Kyoya's arms reach.

"S-s-sorry."

Between last period and club activity time, all students (in the high school division) had a free study period. This period allowed students to have time to finish their homework assignments in school, thus giving them leisure time to do as they wanted outside of school. However, like in the last five minutes of class, there was seldom a student who actually used this time wisely. Though most students went to the reading rooms, most of them just gossiped or spent time with the friends they didn't have in their usual classes. Even Kyoya did not use this time for homework. Free period was the time when Host Club members usually oversaw the set up of the third music room. This way, when club activities began at the end of the school day, the parlour would be set up and ready to receive guests.

Because he was the classroom representative, Kyoya also had to oversee classroom cleanup for the first day of school. Tamaki had not waited up, so he could see to it that the music room would be presentable for its first day in the new semester. Thus when Kyoya headed up to the third music room that day, he was a little bit late, and alone.

For a time when none of the students had class, the halls of the school were rather empty. When Kyoya walked through the magnificent halls of Ouran, his leather shoes echoed as they tapped against the marble floors. Kyoya had to admit that rather than a school, Ouran really did resemble more of a palace. He knew that when the building had been constructed, the architecture was loosely inspired by the French palace of Versailles. Even though appearances were superficial, it was nice. After all, who wouldn't choose to attend school in a palace over a concrete building? The school _was_ built to impress the wealthy.

As he was going up the stairs leading to the third floor, Kyoya happened to look into one of the wings of the building. Standing in the hallway just outside the door to one of the rooms, was Rio. From afar, he could see how tall and slender she really was. Kyoya wondered if there was a guy who was confessing his feelings to her on the other side of the door. He wouldn't have been surprised; no one had really made their admiration of Rio a secret. Ouran boys generally didn't hesitate to let a girl know he liked her. After all, what girl _wouldn't _want to date a boy from Ouran?

Realizing that it was none of his business, Kyoya was about to continue up the stairs when he realized where he was, where Rio was and he had an epiphany. The west wing of the school was set aside for the arts programs. The fourth floor was for dramatic arts, the third floor for music, the first floor for visual arts, and the second floor for dance. On the other side of the door where Rio stood was a dance studio, and the clues of the day tied together.

* * *

><p>It was a summer night, nearly four years ago, when Kyoya had very reluctantly donned his best suit and met his family on the landing of their home to go watch the performance. Fuyumi had laughed at the sour look on his face. "Cheer up Kyo-chi, you know it's some people's dream to be able to watch such a wonderful performance," she'd told him. Kyoya had scowled at this.<p>

"Don't call me that!" The thirteen year old replied. "I have better things to do than to watch a ballet. Anyways how do you know it's so _wonderful_ nee-san? It's not like you've seen it before."

"I just know it will be," said Fuyumi still smiling. "It's Bolshoi Ballet. The dancers are from the world's most prestigious ballet school, and they're going to be showing their most talented group tonight. It's _Romeo and Juliet_, didn't you learn that in school last term? You should enjoy tonight."

"I didn't enjoy learning about it," said Kyoya flatly. "And I won't enjoy watching it."

"Kyoya," his eldest brother had said sternly. "Regardless of whether or not you're going to enjoy it, just remember that when you are out in public, you represent not only yourself, but this family. So stop sulking and act mature."

"Ichiro-kun," his brother's girlfriend chided him softly. "Don't be so harsh on Kyoya, he's just a child."

Of course, the thirteen year old Kyoya could not stand being called a child and immediately cleaned up his act. Though he did not walk into Outo Theatre expecting much, the performance went above and beyond Kyoya's presumptuous expectations. Despite the fact that he'd thought Romeo and Juliet was the most stupid story Shakespeare ever had the mind to write, when it had been interpreted into dance, the execution and presentation was beautiful. The music was so well orchestrated, the set so beautifully arranged, and the dancers so graceful. It was watching that performance that led Kyoya to have a greater appreciation of ballet. He realized that the magic of ballet was that it could reach out to people, regardless of who they were, what age they were, or what language they spoke.

The girl who danced the part of Juliet looked so young she couldn't have been older than Kyoya. She was so talented and so passionate that Kyoya could understand why she was one of Bolshoi's best. When she danced, it was as if she was floating, or walking on water. She really did embody the charm that the young Juliet was meant to have.

Kyoya was sucked into the performance; this was much more interesting than reading the lines in his English literature class. By the end of the performance, everyone around him was in tears. The performance received a standing ovation, and when the young Juliet came out to take her bow hand in hand with Romeo, Kyoya had somehow caught her eye.

* * *

><p>He remembered now. Although in the years that had passed, Rio had obviously grown, there was no doubt in Kyoya's mind that it was her. In hindsight, Kyoya thought that Rio might have been his first crush. He had certainly never had interest in a girl before her, and he had been a bit upset when his father refused to allow him to go backstage to congratulate her. So before he even knew what he was doing, Kyoya went down the hallways towards Rio instead of going up the stairs. That would be his biggest regret of the day.<p>

She heard him walking down the hall and recognized him. "Kyoya-senpai, it's nice to see you again." When she greeted him, gave a little bow as general protocol.

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, Hayashi-san," he said, smiling at her. He truly did admire this girl. True talent was not something that favoured the wealthy. When he got to where she was, Kyoya could see that the ballet studio was empty, the light coming in through the large windows fell onto the wooden floorboards and the dust particles in the air were visible in that light. He wondered why she was simply standing outside the room, rather than practicing inside it.

"It's a beautiful room," Rio said, seeing what Kyoya was looking at. She smiled sadly. "It's a shame that no one's making use of it."

"You could, if you like," he said. Rio looked up at him, slightly surprised. Her eyes opened wide at the idea.

"Oh no," she said quietly. To Kyoya's slight surprise, her eyes began to tear up. "I couldn't..."

She had turned her gaze to the floor, her shoulders shaking slightly, her hands clutching a fold of her dress, wringing the fabric. Was she crying? Kyoya had not expected this at all. He was sure that someone who had attended the world's most prestigious ballet school in the world, would have more confidence in her abilities.

"Of course you can," he said softly. "You are an amazing dancer, and it's certainly not against the rules for students to use any of these facilities."

She looked at him again, and to Kyoya's horror, tears were steadily streaming down her face and falling onto the floor. In all his nearly seventeen years of life, Kyoya was sure that he had never made a girl cry before. Of course, there was a first for everything, but one hardly woke up in the morning resolving that _this_ would be the day he made a girl cry. He hoped this would never happen again, Kyoya felt guilty, and uncomfortable; almost as if he'd shamed his family name by being so tactless.

"You came to Tokyo once, to perform, I was there," said Kyoya quickly, trying to reassure her that he was not a creep, and that he could make a valid testament to her abilities. "...I didn't get to tell you at the time, but you were spectacular. I'm sure you still are..."

"T-thank you," she said through her tears, but her crying did not subside. Although she had thanked him, Rio stood there, crying harder than ever, to the point where she was practically sobbing.

Naturally, this freaked Kyoya out a little. Usually, when one gets comforted, they don't keep crying (or cry even harder for that matter). What was wrong with this girl that she didn't know how to take a compliment? Kyoya stood there, watching her cry, not wanting to touch her or anything because they were practically strangers and he was quickly fearing that whatever he did would only make her even more distraught. Not only that, but Kyoya was getting the hunch that she would not get better regardless of what he said. Thus, he didn't want to say anything else to her either. He didn't want to just leave her there either, so he stood, not knowing what to do.

"...What's wrong?" he finally had the courage to ask.

Rio shook her head, not looking at him. Over her laboured breathing and her quiet sobs, Kyoya heard footsteps. Looking up hopefully, he saw that it was Hikaru who was in close vicinity. Kyoya had never been happier to see the mischievous twin. Hikaru had heard her sobs, or perhaps he, like Kyoya had simply been drawn to look that way, but he saw them and hurried down the hallway. Kyoya felt like he was being rescued out of a burning house. Relief washed over him as Hikaru hurried over. It was obvious by the expression on his face that he was alarmed, and concerned. He looked to Rio, then to Kyoya who stood by.

"What's wrong?" he asked Kyoya. "What did you say to her?"

Kyoya shrugged, feeling slightly intimidated by the fierceness in Hikaru's voice when he asked. It was the first time he'd ever seen one of the twins give off that feeling. He felt guilty too, because Rio had obviously not been crying before Kyoya had come to see her. "I- I don't know."

Hikaru shook his head at Kyoya, and turned to Rio. To Kyoya's surprise, Hikaru didn't even hesitate when he put his arms around Rio and held he in a tight embrace. Suddenly, Kyoya felt like an awkward third wheel, witnessing a rather uncomfortable public display of affection. Rio didn't draw back from Hikaru, and instead cried into his chest while he held her. Was there something going on between them? For a moment Kyoya thought... but it wasn't as if Hikaru had shown Rio anything but disinterest and annoyance unless he absolutely _had_ to do something for her.

"It's okay," said Hikaru, sounding kind but slightly annoyed at the same time. "I'm here. You can stop crying now you fool, you're scaring Kyoya-senpai. If you keep at it, he's going to think you hate him. Anyways, it's _your_ fault. Kaoru and I told you not to come here, didn't we? Why did you come? You knew that it was going to make you like this."

Kyoya was slightly surprised at Hikaru's words. Did he really think that he could calm a hysterical girl by telling her it was her fault in the first place? Kyoya was sure that Hikaru was only going to make it worse, which showed how much he knew about Rio. To Kyoya's slight shock, Rio's sobs subsided into sniffs, though when she looked up at Hikaru, tears were still falling. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes had gotten bloodshot and puffy. It was a distinctly unattractive look. That the front of her hair was all damp and dishevelled in no way helped the fact. Hikaru leaned down and wiped her tears for her.

"Rio, that's enough. Look, you ruined my uniform too," Hikaru said, as if reprimanding a child. Sure enough, his uniform was damp with her tears. Rio looked stricken. He sighed "Don't worry; I'm not mad at you. But you need to stop crying, okay?"

"S-sorry," Rio mumbled, her voice cracking.

"Good girl," said Hikaru. When had Hikaru _ever_ been that responsible and mature? And since when was it Hikaru who could deal with a girl and not Kyoya? This was a strange, and slightly disconcerting turn of events. Kyoya suddenly had a paranoid fear that he was losing his charisma, which he immediately put down because it reminded him too much of Tamaki. "Now come on. We're going to go get you cleaned up. Then I'll take you to the music room and you can wait for me and Kaoru there until our club activities are done, okay? Kyoya-senpai, that's alright, right?"

"Of course," said Kyoya, who would rather have lied to his father than refuse any request that would remotely make it up to Rio.

"Thank you Kyoya-senpai," said Hikaru, who looked expectantly at Rio.

"Thank you," said Rio, not looking at Kyoya.

"It's no problem at all," said Kyoya, putting his host demeanor on. What was the point in fretting over this anyways? Obviously Hikaru had it under control.

Hikaru took Rio's hand so that they could leave together. He looked to Kyoya and he half expected Hikaru to say 'I'll deal with you later'. Instead, Hikaru gave a bow and tugged Rio's arm so that she did so too. "Sorry for this Kyoya-senpai."

"I'm sorry," said Rio, blushing.

"Oh no," said Kyoya, smiling to the two of them. "Don't be."

"We'll see you later, Kyoya-senpai," said Hikaru as he took Rio down the hallway. Even when they'd left the corridor Kyoya could hear Hikaru talking to Rio, still obviously annoyed at her erratic behaviour. Although he certainly wasn't affectionate towards her, it was surprising that Hikaru acted so naturally close to Rio. He had to admit, he was impressed by Hikaru's very mature actions that day. Kyoya certainly did not see that coming from someone who took pleasure in seeing Tamaki sulk. As Kyoya finally made his way upstairs, he remembered Kaoru's words at lunchtime: '_Don't talk about her past... She's really sensitive to that._' Had he listened to what Kaoru was saying, this entire situation could have been averted. Kyoya could have kicked himself for being so stupid.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hooray! It's Thursday, and as promised: chapter two! Actually...I wouldn't say these are long enough to be chapters (looking at it relatively to real novels -coughHarryPottercough-), so maybe, installment #2? Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this as regularly updated as I plan to, which I don't see why not, as it's summer and I don't have any other commitments.

So did you enjoy?

I don't really like it when original characters are always so mysterious. I guess it adds draw to the story, but I don't like it so blatantly obvious. This may sound rather hypocritical to you, having read my story so far, but the point is; I will be clearing up all the mystery surrounding Rio (and her past) A.S.A.P. I think the canon characters might have been a little out of character this chapter. What do you think? But if you're going to say you think they are, please tell me how you think they should act. It's always good to have more than one perspective. Also, I would love to hear how you think I could improve Rio's character. Because I like hearing other people's ideas.

Remember, Monday and Thursday. Please look forward to it :) and** please make my day, by leaving a review**. :D Thanks.

Also, a shout out to **Draycos** and **TheRejectedAngel** for leaving me my very first reviews! I am so hugely thankful. I don't know why, but reviews mean a lot to me. Thank you for reading :) We'll meet again on Monday.


	3. The Shortest Chapter Ever TT

1.3 _That awkward moment when someone catches you reading up on them_.

The article was small and didn't protrude into any of the headlines. It was small and modest and sad. Although Kyoya was proficient in a number of languages (Japanese, English, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, German), Russian was not one of these. Thus, it was only after he'd plugged the article into the translator that he realized he'd found what he was looking for. The translation was terrible, but it made enough sense to give Kyoya the idea of what happened and the idea was what he was looking for. Written in Russian, and then translated, went something like this:

**TRAGEDY OF RISING STAR**

_ March 16 2xxx, a tragic accident occurred when the vehicle hit the pedestrian during the busy hour of 17 o'clock, just ten minutes drive from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography the main building on campus. Victim of the accident was identified as a fifteen Rio Hayashi, a rising star of the academy. Academy staff found that Hayashi was called the youngest prima ballerina in the next season, but it seems that the young dancer's career was cut short. Although Hayashi survived the accident, she suffered a minor injury of the head, three broken ribs and most tragic destruction of the bones in both legs. Doctors fear she may never walk again. This knowledge, even those who do not dance, what the dancers are nothing without her legs. This inevitably means a long and illustrious career for Hayashi Rio is no longer. [More about this A6]_

He read the article over many times to make sure he had all the facts down. The more he read it, the more Kyoya came to comprehend how terribly unfortunate it was for this to happen to her. Ever since he was thirteen, Kyoya had come to understand the appeal of dance as an art form. When he was fifteen, he watched a documentary about ballet dancers and the terribly gruelling life they had to leave to achieve their dreams. By comparison, even the life of toil that commoners had to live was easier than the life that ballet dancers had. He could imagine how it would have torn at any girl just to have her dream crushed _as she was about to achieve it_. It was like Kyoya working so hard all these years and having his father sign his company over, only to change it at the last minute on his will.

Like the company was for Kyoya; ballet was probably everything to Rio. When that was taken away, what did she have to fall back on? She would have given up everything.

His eyes reached the picture beside the online article; a younger Rio was in the picture, smiling brightly, eyes shining with pride and passion. She was wearing a beautiful costume. Her hair was in neat ringlets, the top half tied up with a bow. The caption explained that she had played the lead part of Marie in the Nutcracker when she was nine.

"A pity," Kyoya breathed, leaning back on his chair to survey what damage had been done to the third music room while he had diverted his attention. The twins were sitting on an overstuffed antique sofa together, with their heads close, their French textbooks out and their notebooks on their laps. Hani and Mori had gone to Kendo. Tamaki was overseeing the production of the cakes and beverages. Rio, who had arrived with Hikaru fifteen minutes ago, was nowhere to be seen. Where had she gone?

Not even minutes ago, she had been with Tamaki.

Suddenly, a soft giggle came from behind Kyoya. He gave a start. Whipping around, he found that somehow Rio was standing right behind him. How did she end up there? Perhaps she was a ghost...or some other supernatural being that could move quickly and undetectably. Or maybe Kyoya was just stupid. What really perplexed him was that Rio was laughing. He was glad that she was feeling better, but this rather dramatic change in her mood scared him a little. Maybe all girls were like that? This could certainly have been the case. Most girls are pretty moody.

"What's so funny?" Kyoya asked.

Rio sat down beside him and pointed to his computer screen, still giggling. "The translation is ridiculous... _most tragic destruction of the bones_... that sounds terrible, don't you agree?"

"How can you say that?" asked Kyoya, bewildered. "This happened to _you_!"

In another moment, Kyoya realized how strange it may seem that he had been reading an article about her. He closed his laptop hastily and in doing so, he closed it on his thumb, which hurt. Almost as a reflex, he swore. Rio's eyes widened in surprise and Kyoya realized his company. "I'm sorry. All I've been doing is acting inappropriately around since we met."

"No," said Rio with a smile. "I like that even when you try, you're not completely perfect. If you were, I would be extremely wary of you."

Kyoya wasn't sure that was a compliment.

"In Moscow," she said propping her cheek up on her arm. "Everybody is constantly trying to be perfect. I'm tired of it. I don't think you can for perfection, it's so unnatural."

"Did you not try as well?" asked Kyoya, who found this strange coming from a former ballerina herself. He would have doubted it if Rio didn't live her life in measure perfection as well.

"I never tried to be perfect, just to be my best," said Rio. "Sometimes, perfection is in being the best you can be, don't you agree?"

"Absolutely," said Kyoya with a smile. Rio smiled too, and for the first time that day, Kyoya actually felt comfortable in her company. Of course, before they could do or say anything else, Tamaki so kindly interrupted to tell Kyoya it was time to greet the guests. "Please excuse me," he told Rio, who nodded as he went to stand by Tamaki in his chair. Rio sat at his table and watched the goings on of the Host Club. When he watched her out of the corner of his eye, he found that she seemed to be rather enjoying herself. Without even realizing it, he turned back to his own guests with a bit of a genuine smile on his face.

As if he didn't have enough on his mind already with Rio that day, the scholarship student somehow wandered into the music room and broke an eight million dollar vase. And in a fit of dramatics, Tamaki had announced the poor child a host club dog, then changed his mind and made Haruhi Fujioka a host when he saw that she actually didn't look half bad.

"Kyoya-senpai," said Rio, sitting beside him with a cup of tea in front of her. From their vantage point, they could see everything in the room. Haruhi Fujioka was talking to some girls from her homeroom class, 1A. "Why did Tamaki-senpai make Haruhi-san a host?"

Kyoya looked over at her. Rio sat like a lady, with her back straight, ankles crossed, and quietly observing the activities in the room. Currently, she too was looking at Haruhi. "...do you know?"

"That Haruhi-san is a girl?" asked Rio. She looked at him sceptically. "How is it possible not to see that she's a girl?"

"Well for her sake, please do not reveal her secret," said Kyoya. He had to admit, he didn't think that Haruhi was so terrible. Sure she was extremely unrefined, but she was also keen, and intelligent, and sane for a change. It would be interesting to have her around. Already, she was introducing them to new things, like instant coffee (which was disgusting).

"That's very thoughtful of you senpai."

"You say that like you don't expect it," said Kyoya. Rio was interesting too. She made for good company because she wasn't too needy, or girly, and she certainly didn't dote on him like other girls. It gave him the feeling that she wasn't just interested in befriending him because he was an Ootori. He wondered if she even knew the extent of his family influence. He suspected that she did, but there would be time to find out. It didn't hurt that she was good looking either.

"I guess I just didn't expect you to be upfront about it," she admitted. She looked at him thoughtfully. "Then again...you _did_ read up on me when I was in the room."

"You seemed to have fun with Rio-chan today," said Tamaki with a genuine smile on his face. Before Kyoya could say something, Tamaki continued. "I'm glad."

Kyoya smiled too. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Oh my lord, this is the shortest chapter ever! Super short. D: And I totally procrastinated, it's so late today, 9:28EST. Sorry! I really am, to all of us. -oh boy-. I might rewrite this chapter, make it longer and better.

Okay, from now on, my goal is to write the next chapter the same day I publish the current chapter. I'll stay up late, and publish at 12:00 on the day. The goal is to put it up before noon. Yay!

Thank you so much to _Draycos, xXMayuXx, radioactivepenguin13, angel2u_ for reviewing! Srsly.

If you reviewed, please continue to, and tell me your thoughts along the way :D.

From this chapter on, I will stop harping on about reviews. But please do continue to review : ).

Thank you so _**so**_ much for sticking with me. Especially this time. I'll make the next chapter longer, I promise.

Also, in due time, this fan fiction may (very likely will) be changed to M.

Kthxbye.


	4. A little bit anticlimactic, perhaps?

1.4 _That awkward moment when you can't be rude, even if you'd kill to do it..._

In early October, Ouran Academy's student council held an annual fundraiser to earn money for extra-curricular funding. Perhaps inspired by the vast popularity and successes of the host club, the event they chose to have was a dinner, date auction, and dance. Each club that wanted funding was to participate by having one of their members become one of the eligible dates in the auction. Of course, the moment Tamaki enthusiastically volunteered to be their club's representative, Kyoya could see the student council's clever draw and that Tamaki's participation alone would bring obvious success to the event.

Tamaki was not the only one. In an effort to increase the Host Club's shares of the funds raised, Kyoya had slyly manipulated Tamaki into forcing encouraging all other Host Club members into volunteering as well. The auction was to be a fail-proof success because the student council had somehow managed to convince all of the school's most singles into putting themselves up for auction. Even students who were popular, but seemed to be generally unapproachable were participating. The biggest draw of the event, was that students weren't told of who would be up for bid, so all students who were remotely curious or interested would have to fork up sixteen thousand yen for a ticket to the fundraiser. This alone would be substantial profit.

The Friday afternoon before the fundraiser, Tamaki decided that all club members were to stay after guests left to collectively plan each date.

"Oh, Kaoru and I told Rio-chan to come here and wait for us because we're going home late today," said Hikaru as he returned to were Kyoya sat, after sending guests off. "That's okay right, Kyoya-senpai?"

Kyoya hadn't seen Rio for a while. Not even a week into the new term, Rio had made her own friends and joined an extracurricular activity. This meant that she stopped eating lunch with Hikaru and Kaoru (and effectively Kyoya), and that she stopped coming to the music room after school to wait for club activities to end. As Kyoya was a year older than Rio, he didn't share any classes with her. Because the school was so large in physical size and so populated, he never saw Rio in the halls either.

"I don't see why not," said Kyoya, still typing into his laptop as Hikaru took the seat beside his brother. Though his tone was of cool disinterest, he felt strangely anxious about the idea of Rio joining them. It was almost anticipation; the same sort of feeling he had when he was about to share any sort of accomplishment with his father.

The students had happily adopted Rio as just another foreign student, but many male students had actually come to develop feelings for her and perhaps, Kyoya's own interest for her had yet to die down.

"Who's Rio-san?" asked Haruhi, who sat across the table from the twins.

"She's a girl who lives at our house," said Kaoru, "and attends this school."

"That's interesting," said Haruhi, giving them the kind of straightforward, surprisingly genuine look that had undoubtedly made girls like her. "I always thought you two would be the kind who didn't let people casually into your lives. ...is she related to you?"

"No," said Kaoru.

At the same time, Hikaru murmured rather bitterly under his breath, "Like we had a choice."

Before the conversation could continue, there was a knock on the heavy wooden doors. Without another word, Hikaru and Kaoru both stood up and left Haruhi alone at the table with Kyoya. They answered the door and let Rio in. She made to sit to the side, on one of the couches so she wouldn't get in the way. The twins however, had her join the hosts at the table, proclaiming that Tamaki would never forgive them if he thought they were mistreating her again. True, Tamaki had been very bitter about their lack of gentlemanly conduct around Rio, but it was surprisingly kind of the twins none the less. Haruhi stared after them in wonder. "I feel like I'll never understand them," Haruhi said more to herself.

"You may think that she's of no relevance to you," said Kyoya as they walked over. "But you have a lot more to thank Rio for than you know."

Because the three had come within earshot, Kyoya didn't explain to Haruhi what he meant.

When he saw Rio again, Kyoya found that she looked more or less the same. He reminded himself that people generally don't change in appearance after only a month. She caught his eyes and smiled. Her smile, like Haruhi's general demeanour, was very genuine and earnest. Kyoya decided that it was a good smile.

"Good afternoon Kyoya-senpai," she said politely. She turned to Haruhi, smiling at her too. "And you must be Fujioka-san; it's very nice to finally meet you. Hikaru and Kaoru _always_ talk about you."

"Ah, do they?" asked Haruhi a bit nervously. Conditioned by the Host Club to accept immediate informalities, Kyoya could sense that Haruhi was a bit put off by Rio's formal way of addressing her. He could also understand her uneasiness. Who was to say what the twins said about her when no one was around to contain their behaviour?

Rio laughed as she sat down between Haruhi and Kyoya. "They probably try to hide it, but they actually really like you," she told Haruhi, ignoring the fact that both twins were right there. They both flushed and glared daggers at Rio. She also failed to notice this. "You're probably not used to them –no one ever really is-, but don't worry: they're a breeze to handle after you-"

"Say one more word Rio, and we'll put worms in your dinner," said Hikaru, still pink in the face.

"Hikaru, that's rude," said Haruhi, her voice full of the sort of authority adults have when talking to children. Hikaru merely scowled, and didn't retort. Rio regarded Haruhi with a sort of unspoken reverence.

"Wow, you're a natural," she said quietly.

When Tamaki, Hani-senpai, and Mori-senpai returned from receiving fundraiser briefing papers from the student council's meeting room (Mori-senpai was the captain of the Kendo-team, and thus volunteered his participation on behalf of that team), they began to plan the dates. Apart from Haruhi, who was reluctant to do anything at all, Hikaru and Kaoru were also unenthusiastic about the idea of going on a date with a stranger.

"The person who wins your dates will most likely be your designates, so you won't be completely unfamiliar with them," said Kyoya, after Hikaru voiced his disapproval of going on a date with a stranger for the third time.

"But still," said Kaoru, eyeing Haruhi covertly. He looked a bit sad when he spoke. "It won't be as meaningful if it's with someone we're not that close to."

"What's the big deal?" asked Tamaki. "It's just one date. Haven't you ever...?" Tamaki didn't finish what he was saying because before he even finished, the older students realized the answer. Hikaru and Kaoru both blushed, and didn't say anything. Tamaki smiled at them. "Don't worry. We'll plan it so that you'll have a good time no matter who you're with. ...We could even make it a special, double date! I bet that would be a hit!"

"Don't worry," said Rio, as Tamaki continued on. "Even if it's your first dates, it's still just a date. Once you find someone that you really like, you can go on a first date with that person, and that'll be the first date that you'll cherish."

Still the twins frowned, but they went along with Tamaki's ideas. After a while, they even contributed their own and by the time they'd finished planning, it seemed to Kyoya that they were feeling a lot more comfortable about the idea. They may have even been looking forward to it a little, which was more than anybody could have hoped for.

* * *

><p>Tamaki had participated in this fundraiser for two reasons. The first reason was that he was the primary representative of the Host Club. The second was that he genuinely enjoyed strange courting rituals and events where any sort of romance was involved.<p>

Mori-senpai had participated because his juniors in the Kendo team had asked it of him. They'd maintained that he was the most popular among the girls, and that they would be honoured if he was the one representing the Kendo team. Also, Hani-senpai was participating, so naturally, he would too.

Hani-senpai had chosen to do it, simply because he wanted to.

Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru had more or less been forced into it. Tamaki had put their names down before he'd even told them there would be an auction.

Kyoya had volunteered to do it, because he thought that it would be an interesting experience... something he'd never tried before. And of course, the third Ootori son was never one to pass up an opportunity to find out how much he was worth. However, he deeply regretted this decision when he learned that rehearsals for the event would be held at nine o' clock Saturday morning. This meant that the Host Club members were all present and accounted for, inside Kyoya's bedroom at seven on Saturday morning. He hadn't gone to sleep until four that same morning.

The whispers in his room told him they were there. Immediately, annoyance and anger rushed over Kyoya; the only thing holding him back from kicking them out of his house was that as long as they continued without bothering him, he could continue to sleep. When one lacks five hours of sleep, every minute counts. They were debating on who should wake him up.

"_You_ should do it, tono; it was _your_ idea to go to the stupid rehearsals together."

"Why should I? As the representative face of this group, it's important for me not to take any injuries, especially not before tonight. We all know that I'll be raking in the most money."

"Don't be so selfish Tamaki-senpai, as the leader; you should be the one to step up to these kinds of tasks."

"H-H-Haruhi!"

"M-Mori-senpai, couldn't you?"

"..."

"Tama-chan, Tama-chan, you're Kyo-chan's best friend. Kyo-chan won't mind if it's Tama-chan."

"...Rio-chan? Please?"

"Wouldn't it be weird? It's not like we know each other well. I feel like I shouldn't even be in here."

"It's not weird at all! You're friends after all! Go on..."

"Um...okay. _Ah_!"

There was a weight on Kyoya's bed. Immediately it was gone and Rio was whisper apologies to the half conscious Kyoya. Footsteps told him she was walking over. They had really put him in a hard place. It wasn't like he could be rude to a fellow Ouran student, especially one who had become friends with so many people. All he needed was for her to tell people how rude Kyoya had been and then the bridges he'd build with these people would come crashing down.

"Kyoya-senpai..." Rio was whispering tentatively. Maybe if he kept sleeping, she would go away. There was a pause in which Kyoya could bet Tamaki and the twins were ushering her on. "Kyoya-senpai, it's seven-twenty... I know that it's not in my place to tell you when to get up, but please wake up."

She gave him small nudges on the shoulder. Still he ignored her, trying to continue sleeping. She sighed and there was another silence. Kyoya cherished this moment, but it was short lived. The weight returned on the side of his bed, and he felt hair that wasn't his brushing the side of his face and neck. Even with his eyes closed he could feel Rio leaning close to him by the warmth her body gave off and her breath near his skin.

"_Please_ forgive me for this," she whispered into his ear.

Kyoya had abruptly turned to lie on his back and opened his eyes to see Rio's slightly blurry face. She had withdrawn from such close proximity after she relayed her message. Upon opening his eyes, the Host Club ceased their whispered and cheered full volume.

"Wow, he's actually awake!" said Tamaki.

"Good job!" said Hikaru and Kaoru together, each giving her a thumb up.

"...what did you say to him?" asked Haruhi in a low suspicious voice.

Rio handed Kyoya his glasses. He sat up in bed and put them on. When he looked to Rio, she was smiling apologetically.

"...what were you...?" Kyoya asked.

"Ah, don't worry senpai," said Rio brightly. "Now that you're up I won't have to. Please don't be too angry."

"Never mind," said Kyoya irritably. "All of you leave so and wait for me downstairs. Don't come upstairs without my permission again."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Wow, it seems like time passed too quickly between Monday and Thursday...

I think things are beginning to get rolling now, yay. I was actually going include what happens in the next chapter in this one, but in my mind, that would be way too long, so I didn't. The trouble with Ouran though, is that it doesn't really follow a timeline...if you know what I mean. Like, if you read the manga (which, I'm basing this on things that happen in the manga, maybe with some anime events incorporated?), things don't happen in chronological order. So I'll have to try my best to make them work...which is hard when you can't keep track of so many chapters in your head at once... _

Things will be easier after Part One, but until then, just bear with me...

Also, I think I might edit chapter 3...I'll tell you in my A/N for next installment if I do, it won't really affect the already rolling plot. But I figured I would plug in some more details and happenings. In my mind (and written plot development) things do happen between this chapter and the last that aren't written. I was thinking about writing them in later, but I might just add it to chapter 3.

Thanks so much to _angel2u, Draycos, lachicgeek_, and _-youstolemyname-_ for reviewing :D, your feedback makes me feel like I can do this!

I would also like to note that I don't second guess myself, thus I don't edit my work either. Please excuse any minor grammatical mishaps/whatever.

Thank you so much for reading, as always. I appreciate it! Seriously. :)

I'll see you on Monday, hopefully it'll be good ^_=\\/ (that's a winky victory sign face, hahaha)


	5. Men are not from Venus, I think

1.5 _Men are from Venus, women are from mars?_

Although she lived with the Hitachiin family, it was obvious to Rio that neither Hikaru nor Kaoru liked her very much (or at all, for that matter). Sure occasionally, they were kind to her –this was more often in public- but mostly, they were apathetic and indifferent to Rio. Even these rare times were more than likely to be prompted by Yuzuha, who had promised Rio's parents she would be happy in Japan. Rio was sure that before she had come to live with the twins, their mother had given them a sound lecture about being hospitable to their guest. She could tell because every nice thing they did for her was done grudgingly.

Supposedly, women were the ones to hold grudges, but the twins were quite atypical in that over ten years had passed, and they _still_ had something against her. It wasn't as if she'd committed some terrible wrongdoing. All Rio had done to win the Hitachiin twins' resentment was move to away. Still, they blamed her, like they didn't know that no five year old had a choice in the matter of moving. Back then, the twins had begged her to stay, even to live with them –what irony that was now- but Rio at the tender age of five, didn't want to leave her parents and her siblings. Yuzuha and her husband had gone to see the Hayashi family off, but the twins, feeling betrayed by Rio, had refused to leave their home.

Because she didn't attend the same school as the twins growing up, she didn't witness them resolving that they could only rely on each other. She didn't see how they refused to let anyone else into their lives. She wasn't there to see how defiantly lonely they were up until a year ago. She couldn't understand how incredibly hurt they were when at five years old; their very closest friend apart from each other had left.

Of course, even without this knowledge, the twins had made Rio feel terribly guilty for imposing in their lives, living in their house, eating their food, using their things. And loneliness was something that came out of their apathy. Life for Rio was terribly lonely inside the Hitachiin house.

Imagine Rio's surprise, when for the first time in her stay with the Hitachiin family, the twins came to her room for a visit.

"Rio, we're coming in," Hikaru didn't ask, he had announced the morning of the school auction. This _was_ his house after all, and he had every right to. When he opened the door, Rio was standing at her dresser in her bra and underwear. When Rio looked up, Hikaru was standing at her door, looking dumbstruck, his face redder than a tomato. Kaoru, ignorant of what had caused the hold up, peeked over his brother's shoulder, and froze too, blushing. The most uncomfortable thing about the situation was that they didn't even look away.

"I'm not decent?" Rio remarked weakly. Perhaps it was a bit too late to tell them that. Her words snapped the twins back into reality. In a moment, Hikaru and Kaoru had stepped out of the vicinity of her room, swiftly closing the door behind them. Not wanting to make them wait (everything she did made them irritable), Rio looked frantically for something to wear. It was hard having to choose clothes now that she wore a uniform to school every day. Rio liked taking her time to make herself look aesthetically pleasing. This was perhaps nurtured out of her from six years of nothing but fierce competition over something that was very much based upon looks.

_There's no time for that now_, she reminded herself, because two likely already annoyed twins were outside her door. Hikaru and Kaoru could honestly be harder to deal with than teenage girls. She grabbed the first thing within reach, a dress that was clearly meant for summertime. Almost literally throwing it on, Rio hurried to the door, opening it to find the twins standing in the hallway, arms crossed and not amused. _Shit._

"Come in," said Rio uncomfortably.

They did so, traipsing into the room past Rio. "Like we need your permission," Hikaru muttered.

"Why are you guys so uncomfortable? Don't you see scantily clad women backstage at your Yuzuha-san's runway shows all the time?" asked Rio, sitting on the bed and watching as they picked the loveseat to sit on. The loveseat was placed with its back to the end of Rio's bed. Hikaru and Kaoru perched on it, as if hiding from her, staring at her over the back of the chair.

They ignored her questions.

"Tonight at the auction, you need to win both of our dates," Kaoru said. Just as Hikaru had announced he was going to come in, Kaoru didn't ask, he told. "It's the least you can do for us."

"If you and Hikaru-kun want to go on a date with me, I don't want to have to pay for it," Rio told him.

"Isn't it obvious that we don't?" Hikaru snapped.

"Then why would you want me to win your dates?"

They didn't answer, and again a flush came to their cheeks. Rio felt that she might have gone a bit too far, somehow managing to infuriate and embarrass both of them with one question. Then again, it was every other day that Rio felt she might have taken things too far with them.

"What's the big deal? It's just one date," said Rio. "It's not like it means anything."

"Maybe it doesn't mean anything to _you_," said Kaoru, eyes narrowed and angry. "But to people who actually cherish relationships with people, it means a lot."

"What I meant was if you don't want it to, it doesn't have to mean anything."

"Only someone as selfish as you would think that," said Hikaru. "To the other person, it _will_ mean something."

She couldn't even deny the truth in Hikaru's statement. It always surprised Rio to see an unconventionally considerate side of either of the twins. Generally, they always seemed so unapproachable, but every time they acted like so, it reminded Rio that they were people too. Every time Rio saw this, she felt a little bit special, because they were so genuine, and not even the girls they entertained saw this side of them. Rio smiled despite herself, and despite the twins' annoyance.

"You're right," she said, a little bit resigned. "I never really thought about that before."

"Doesn't surprise me," they muttered together. Even so, they seemed a bit more relieved, a bit happier when they continued. "So you'll do it then?"

"Of course, don't fret about it anymore, okay?"

"And just so you know," said Kaoru as they left Rio's room together. "You're not getting a date from either of us... even if you did pay for it."

Rio watched them leave, and sighed to herself. In just over a month at Ouran, it had already become very clear to Rio that there were girls who did not like her. To Rio, this was not of any relevance. At her former school, rivalries went beyond dirty looks in hallways, and even some of her closer friends would sabotage her in a second. Bullying, however, was not something she liked to see, and even less something she wanted to receive. Rio was acutely aware that after this weekend, she would become the single most resented girl attending Ouran to date.

"What's the point in all of them even being in the event?" Rio asked no one in particular.

As it happened, on Friday afternoon when the twins had taken Haruhi to show her their mother's newest design, Tamaki had approached Rio with a request.

"Rio, Rio, you _need_ to do something for us, _please_ you're our only hope!"

Tamaki was always quite dramatic, but Rio found that of all the hosts, she liked him best. He was the only one that Rio felt she could comfortably be herself with. They had a lot in common as well. They had both lived abroad, had both been brought to Japan by situations outside their scope of control, they were both _hafu_, both of a Japanese father and French mother. Tamaki too, knew the sort of loneliness that came with moving to another country alone. And he was so kind to her.

"Of course, Tamaki," said Rio, who was very thankful for this ostentatious prince's hospitality. She felt like she owed him quite a lot, and was glad of this chance to repay his kindness.

"The other day, I realized that this may be Haruhi's _first date_, and..." he looked sheepish; like a child with a hugely unreasonable whim. "And otou-san can't just let his daughter's first date pass like that! So can you please, _please_ win Haruhi's date?"

Rio had looked at him quite incredulously. "...Tamaki, do you have feelings for Haruhi-san?"

"What?" asked Tamaki, a bit surprised. "O-of course I do! She's my daughter after all! I have to protect her innocence! Haruhi's so naive that she won't even understand the significance of a first date, next thing you know, she'll be going down the wrong path –no! I can't let that happen!"

"But, I'm a girl too, Tamaki," Rio reminded him.

"Rio-chan, it's because we all wanna go with Haru-chan on her first date too!" said Hani-senpai, coming over with Mori-senpai in tow. "Haru-chan's so cute; wouldn't it be fun to see her in a first date setting?" Mori-senpai nodded in agreement.

"And obviously, it would be weird if any of us bid on Haruhi," Kyoya reminded her. "And of course, we'll pay back whatever you place on Haruhi's date. If you want incentive, I'm sure Hikaru and Kaoru wouldn't disagree with this plan. So just think of it as six of the future heads of Japan's most influential families asking for a favour."

Somehow, there was a dangerous glint in Kyoya's eyes when he said it. Rio came to understand exactly how influential the Host Club was that afternoon. Not only was it impossible to say no to Tamaki's pleading look, and Hani-senpai's convincing, and Mori-senpai just _being there_, but Kyoya had some sort of hidden danger behind his demeanour. Rio knew all too well how the twins could be. She should have known that she had no chance from the moment Tamaki had asked.

Thus, the reason that she would become so disliked by the time Monday rolled around; Rio would seemingly have monopolized a whole day's worth of time of nearly half the Host Club. Though she wouldn't even go on any of the dates she would end up paying for, it would seem to everyone else like she was just... a greedy little fan girl who wanted the attention of all the Host Club. Seeming to date three Host Club members, was three members too many.

* * *

><p>Kyoya was returning to the central salon from the restroom when he caught a bit of someone's conversation. "...be my girlfriend, I promise you won't regret it." Naturally, Kyoya was curious, and paused for a moment to continue listening. "So, what do you say? ...if you don't have an answer now, it's fine, I can wait." Kyoya realized that the voice belonged to Yamato Hiroki of class 3-A, the captain of the school fencing team. Before Tamaki had arrived at Ouran, Hiroki was somewhat the prince of the school, supposedly because there was something in fencing that attracted romantically inclined girls.<p>

Resolving that the loss of Hiroki's single status would mean revenue for the Host Club (where else would heartbroken girls turn to?), Kyoya made to keep walking until he heard the voice of the girl who replied.

"Wait," the voice was so unmistakably Rio's. "Don't go."

Suddenly, there was a slight feeling of dread inside Kyoya. Surely Rio would agree to be Hiroki's girlfriend. No one would say no to him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't be your girlfriend," she said.

"What? Why?" asked Hiroki, with unmistakable shock in his voice.

"Because I'm not interested in you... I didn't even know you before suddenly asked me to be your girlfriend."

"Well, the point of being my girlfriend is so we'll get to know each other better. Come on, I'm a good guy; I'm handsome, aren't I? Tons of girls would want to be in your position right now."

"I don't doubt that, but I don't want to be your girlfriend. Why do you even like me, it's not as if you know me well, senpai."

"I know you enough to know that I _like_ you. Can't we at least go on a date?"

"...I'm sorry senpai, but I really can't."

"Why are you being such a bit-"

"I'm sure there's no need for that kind of language Yamato-senpai," said Kyoya, interrupting Hiroki. He had walked over to where the couple was situated. Hiroki was reaching out to grab Rio as Kyoya came. "Rio-san has already replied to you and if you would listen to her instead of imposing your own selfish desire, you might have gathered that she's not about to change her mind anytime soon."

Kyoya wasn't sure what possessed him to interrupt, except that he had heard about Hiroki's nasty temper, and he didn't want Rio to have to deal with it.

"Shut up Ootori, it's none of your business," snapped Hiroki, his face contorting with irritation.

"True, it's not," Kyoya admitted smoothly. "...Your father's company currently owns the most popular vacation resort in Japan, correct?"

"What does that matter?" he asked, thrown off by this question.

"I was just making a note to inform the board of directors that it would be unwise to consider someone so impatient and so easily angered to any position that may bear heavy responsibility ...or were you not aware that Ootori Group currently holds forty five percent of your company shares? Perhaps you should leave before your father finds himself without a job due to your reckless actions."

Guys like Hiroki were so easy to deal with. Kyoya stood beside Rio as they watched him storm off.

"Thank you Kyoya-senpai, it was very kind of you to go out of your way to help me," said Rio. She didn't sound like she was thankful at all. In fact, the way Rio said it; it seemed as if she was only saying it because she was obligated to.

"It's no problem," said Kyoya. "Should we return to the parlour?"

"Yes," said Rio.

They walked together to the central salon in silence. For the first time since Kyoya had seen her break down crying, it was awkward. The feeling was hard to place, but it was uncomfortable.

"So, if tall, handsome, and strong isn't your type; what is your type?" Kyoya asked, more to break the silence than anything else.

There was a pause after Kyoya asked. Just when he thought she wasn't going to reply, she did.

"You're my type," Rio told him. She said it casually, as if pointing out that the sky was blue, or that Tamaki was once again distraught at Haruhi's indifference to him. When she said it, Kyoya felt a little bit, irregular, but in a good way. He was a bit happy that a girl who could turn down a popular senior would choose to like him instead. Then again, she may have been humouring him.

"You're lying," he said, just to see her reaction.

"You caught me," Rio admitted flippantly. She said it so flatly, and so emotionlessly. It wasn't really like her at all. Kyoya wasn't sure why, but this made him laugh a little. It was just funny.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Actually, in my mind, more was supposed to happen in this chapter, but as it turns out, it was long enough for me to separate into two chapters. They may seem like I'm lazy, and you're right! Sloth is indeed my sin. But, we can't all be perfect. Even so, I assure you that I am not trying to get more bang for my buck, I'm not doing this just for the sake of having more chapters because trust me when I say; this fan fiction is going to be epic-ly long with or without one extra chapter. Just trust.

Anyways, what did you think? ...Third person, but from Rio's point of view. Were you surprised this installment started like this? What do you think of the twins, and Rio's relationship with them? And regarding what happens, Kyoya was a little bit heroic in this chapter, wasn't he? Rio doesn't seem to have appreciated it though.

If you get bored, tell me. ...but maybe also suggest how to make the story more interesting/eventful.

Hopefully the story will get more eventful as the story goes on. But I want to keep Kyoya's relationships realistic (for the most part, anyways). I think relationships tend to seem boring and uneventful unless it involves you in it. A lot of things are going to happen though, even if they aren't huge dramatic deals. They're little big deals. Haha. Maybe it's because I don't have a hugely exciting personality, that my story doesn't seem hugely exciting either.

And I also realized that I write a lot about feelings. Well, I'm a chick. Supposedly, chicks care about feelings, dudes care about facts.

Thanks so much to _acir tools, Aihart, and Wolfchild111_, who reviewed this week. I'm sorry I didn't reply to your reviews; my friends convinced me to start playing Maplestory, and now that's literally all I do. None the less, I read them, replied in my mind, and did a little happy dance in my mind. Reviews make me happier than Maplestory. Actually, sometimes, I just go back and read all the reviews to my story, even if there's no new ones...is that weird? I don't know why they make me so happy, but...don't they make _you_ happy?

As always, thank you so much for reading : ). I appreciate it!


	6. It's not unicorns and rainbows at Ouran

1.6 _That awkward moment when…_

They were supposed to be cousins.

How on Earth did three of the smartest kids in the school forget that they were supposed to be cousins? Other than saying (or on Rio's part, not denying) their blood relations, neither Hikaru, Kaoru, nor Rio had done anything to further affirm their family relations. This was probably why to them, it seemed so normal for Rio to place a bid on her two housemates at the auction –at least they hadn't seen anything wrong with it. That was why, when at going twice, Rio had offered thirty two million for the two of them, all three of them had failed to see what was wrong.

It was only as the whispers erupted and the confused auctioneer called 'going three times…sold! To number 4215', that their cheeks started to burn with the realization that generally, people didn't try to buy dates with their own cousins. The twins could play it off as being equally shocked, because it wasn't as if anyone else could have known the hand they had in Rio's decisions. This had left the general crowd shocked and a good number of girls angry because a short while ago, Rio had also taken the date with Haruhi for twelve million. She had tossed forty four million yen away, just like that. It left people wondering, just how rich and how greedy was Rio? Was it not enough that she _lived_ with the twins? Did she have to take away someone else's chances of getting a foot into the door of their worlds? It didn't help that the twins' open indifference towards her further led people to believe that Rio was possessive and desperate.

From his seat at the Host Club table, he could see Rio sitting there, looking a little nervous and embarrassed and anxious. He had a sudden urge to hold her hand, as if perhaps his touch could reassure her that things would be alright. In the midst of the broadcasting club's representative auction, the twins returned to the table to renewed whispers. The looks they received from their own table elicited a guilty exchange of glances from each of the twins. They sat down in unison, "We didn't realize that this would be the reaction –and we forgot she's supposed to be our cousin, but it's not like she did anything to remind us."

"You shouldn't blame this on Rio-san if you two were the ones to coerce her into doing _you_ a favour," said Haruhi, frowning. She took the words right out of Kyoya's mouth.

"Well," they said together. "There's nothing we can do now." They played it off nonchalantly, but Kyoya could see the guilt still lingering in the way they were throwing worried glances in Rio's direction.

Rio wasn't even paying attention. Her mind was already long gone from the present and she was thinking about other things, things that were a half a world away, things that she wanted but couldn't have. Because of the whispering, the girls grouping together with no good intentions, Rio was swept up with nostalgia that brought her back to a very different world where things still had meaning, where sabotage was on an entirely different level compared to petty whispers, where dreams and the thought of achieving them was still plausible. She jumped with surprise she felt a hand on her shoulder. Standing by her side was Kyoya, looking handsome and sharp in his business formal attire.

"Oh! Kyoya-senpai," she said, face reflecting her surprise. Rio was dressed in a royal blue satin shift dress and she looked stunning and regal. "You surprised me."

"It's intermission, would you like to take a walk with me?"

Her expression indicated that really, she didn't want to walk with him, but after a moment of prolonged silence, she got up from her seat. Kyoya noticed that she was standing the same height relative to him as usual. She wasn't wearing high heels like all the other girls. She really didn't need to; she was taller than the majority of the girls even when they wore heels and she didn't. He offered her his arm and she took it, smiling a little and ignoring the livid looks of all the girls whose dream of a date with Haruhi or the Hitachiin twins had been taken. Despite the obvious air of hostility, Rio was unfazed and Kyoya quickly became distracted by the feel of her hand resting on the crook of his elbow and the fact that they were so close to each other.

"I'm sorry about tonight," Kyoya started. "If we had known that the twins were going to ask you to do that for them, we would never have asked you to bid for Haruhi. …Perhaps it was wrong of us to ask you that in the first place."

"At Bolshoi, there were these two girls who were the very best of friends. You never saw one without the other," said Rio into the quiet of the gardens outside. At night, the gardens were lit by a rather magical display of solar lights that made the flowers seem to glow amidst the darkness. "One day, one of the girls was given the part of Clara in the Nutcracker –I'm sure you know that ballet; it's very well known. It was the part that all of the younger girls strived and worked and fought for. Two weeks later, the same girl twisted her ankle and the understudy –who was her best friend, got to dance the part… Later we found out that the girl had twisted her ankle on purpose because it was her best friend who asked her to…"

"Why did she do it?" asked Kyoya, a little horrified by the extremes the girl had gone to for her friend.

"Because she loved her best friend, and the cost of losing her outweighed the gains of being able to dance that part."

"But she must have realized that anyone who would ask their own friend to do that is not a genuine friend," Kyoya said. Rio laughed into the night air. She limped onto her better leg and did a graceful pirouette, facing Kyoya. She glowed beneath the moonlight and the dim lights of the garden.

"The other girl didn't know that it was wrong," she explained. She stood facing Kyoya, waiting for him to walk up to her before beginning to walk again in his stride. She put her hand back on the crook of his elbow and he felt the coolness of her fingers through the material of his suit. He took off his suit jacket and draped it over Rio. He watched for a reaction, but she seemed too preoccupied in her thoughts to have even noticed. "Everything, every moment, every experience is precious to the twins."

"Does it not hurt you to be scorned by nearly every girl in this school?" Kyoya asked. "Is that worth doing a favour to fulfill the whims of two people who can't even understand the difference between the two sides of the line?"

"This is their world," Rio said, smiling sadly. "And I'm just a visitor. One day I'll wake up an be in a different place, and they'll remain. Playing the antagonist means less to me than being seen as the antagonist by Hikaru and Kaoru. Would you believe me if I told you that they're actually very kind to me?"

"No," Kyoya answered truthfully.

Rio laughed, and Kyoya was so confused by everything he'd said to her. Somehow, their walk had taken them back to the front doors of the school "I wouldn't believe me either." She handed him back his suit jacket. When Kyoya took it he realized it came to smell a little like her. It was an elusive scent, that was there in a moment and gone in the next, and it smelled distinctly like a girl; light, airy, floral… "But you said so yourself, senpai; they can't even understand the difference between the two sides of the line.." After intermission, it was the girls' dates being auctioned, so Rio took the door marked 'auctionees only' and Kyoya waited until that door swung shut to return to the Host Club table.

Hikaru and Kaoru were gazing imploringly at Kyoya, not taking their gaze from him even after he sat back down. "Is she mad at us?" asked Kaoru quietly. Now, they truly did look sorry. They reminded Kyoya distinctly of two little boys who had been caught in wrongdoing and had made an innocent little girl cry.

"Would you be mad at you?"

"Yes," they said, looking sad.

"Well, she's not mad at you," said Kyoya, but the news only seemed to make them feel all the more guilty. Perhaps it would have made them feel better if Rio had complained, and yelled, and let out her anger towards them. But she wasn't even angry, and that was perhaps all the worse. The twins looked at each other and gave a dejected sigh, their moods ruined for the rest of the night. The other host weren't really in any mood to be their usual boisterous selves either, so the entire table settled for being quiet, handsome gentleman as they watched the proceedings of the auction. Secretly, ever girl suffered disappointment when none of the hosts bid for them.

It was only when they got to Rio that any of them paid any real attention. The bidding started at five hundred thousand and more than half the room –four fifths of the males and a third of the females all put up their numbers. Kyoya didn't fail to notice Yamato Hiroki, looking determined among them, nor did he fail to realize that the girls who were bidding on Rio were all the same ones who were bitterly disappointed that Rio had monopolized half the Host Club. And a feeling of dread or foreboding came to Kyoya. Regardless of who won her date, it would be a bad outcome for Rio. That, coupled with the smug, obnoxiously triumphant look on Hiroki's face when the auctioneer had called 'going twice' had prompted Kyoya to put up his own number for a bid of twelve million.

Again, the room was shocked, but Hiroki had his senses about him, throwing out for twelve and a half. They went up like that, in increments of half a million each time, each determined to beat out the other. And of course, Kyoya –like he always did, came out triumphant, forking out a massive eighteen million because of the stubborn hard-headedness of the two young men.

"The date with Rio Hayashi goes for eighteen million yen to number 3519," proclaimed the auctioneer. It was just pocket money, really. And a shocked Haruhi seated between Hikaru and Tamaki remarked on how it could have paid off her debt twice over.

Rio found her way over to the Host Club at the end of the auction. She was going home with them (as she lived with the twins) so they waited for her. Hikaru and Kaoru both gave her apologetic, furtive glances, but she was looking at Kyoya. The others gave them five feet of privacy, walking just slightly ahead of the two. Kyoya wondered if she was happy or upset that he had been the one to win her date.

"Um…" she started, not really knowing what she wanted to or should say. She didn't have the chance to say anything though, because as they were descending the stairs, someone shouted Kyoya's name.

"Ootori!" They both stopped and turned to see four large hulking figures coming their way. Four more seconds revealed the leading one to be Hiroki, who ploughed his way towards Kyoya not even stopping in front of him. He shoved Kyoya back, both hands pushing on his shoulders and Kyoya almost tripped in surprise. "I hate guys like you who just stick their noses in other peoples business. You _stay out of my business_!" he shouted. "Got that? You-stay-the-_fuck_-out!" He didn't give Kyoya enough time to recollect himself. There wasn't enough time for Hani and Mori and the others to make their way back. Hiroki swung his arms to Kyoya in one low blow of a sucker punch and got him right along his cheekbone.

Rio screamed as Kyoya fell back onto Tamaki, his glasses falling to the ground. Mori and Hani physically barred the guys from getting to the poor Ootori boy. The others had all gathered around the stairs, watching in mixed shock and horror. It took a total of ten seconds for Hani and Mori to bring the four guys down to their knees. Ten minutes later, the police came and took them away in the back of the cruiser, Hikaru and Kaoru had navigated the crowds and dispersed them. An hour later, everyone, Haruhi and Rio included, were sitting in the back of a limo. Kyoya had a nasty bruise on his cheek; he winced as he pressed ice to it, and Rio felt terrible because she knew it was entirely her fault that Kyoya had earned himself an extra enemy.

"Don't feel bad," said Hani reassuringly. The older boy was resting against Rio. In the reflection of the tinted window across from them, he could see her stricken expression. "We never really liked Hiroki anyways, he was always a big meanie." Since she'd witnessed Kyoya getting stuck by Hiroki, her eyes had been brimming with tears again. Kyoya had never felt so embarrassed before; he'd always hated getting pity from his father's friends for being the third son, but this felt worse because she had actually _witnessed _his inadequacy. He looked up once and met Tamaki's eyes. It was Tamaki who knew him best, and he understood the resentment when he saw it.

Tamaki and Kyoya were the last ones to leave the limo, Tamaki having decided to invite himself over to Kyoya's for the night. They sat alone in the limo and Kyoya let out a long sigh, leaning his head back on the cool leather seat. "_Fuck it_," he breathed, not even wanting to think about the night, or the way Rio had look at him, had apologized so endlessly. He felt so restless and helpless. Again, Tamaki showed his telepathic prowess.

"Don't worry," he said, grinning at his bruised up friend. "It's not like you've lost your chance with her when you've already _bought_ yourself an eighteen million dollar date."

Kyoya gave a dry laugh and punched Tamaki in the arm. Ignoring Tamaki cry of pain and protest, he still grinned humourlessly as he said to his friend, "shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I blame severe, _severe_ writer's block. Actually, I had no idea how I was going to approach this section of the story when it came time to write it, so I chickened out, ran away, and forgot about it for a good...half (quarter?) of a year. But now I'm back! Hopefully, I'll be regularly updating (as I planned so long ago), it's not like I'm studying like I'm supposed to be anyways.

...I do believe an apology is due, so: I'm _so_ so sorry for disappearing and not keeping my word T^T

To make it up to you, tell me one thing you'd like to see happen in this story, and I will try my best to make it happen. : )

If you read this chapter, even after my 3 month hiatus, thank you very much. I appreciate you more than I can really express, really.

Give me some feedback, feel free to reprimand me for my flakiness, tell me whether or not I've lost my touch, whatever... come back on Monday please! .


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